Social media platforms generate billions in annual ad revenue from US youth

Peer-Reviewed Publication

HARVARD T.H. CHAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Key points:

• Researchers estimated that Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube collectively derived nearly $11 billion in advertising revenue during 2022 from U.S. youth, who are vulnerable to negative mental health outcomes.
• The study is the first to offer estimates of the number of youth users on these platforms and how much annual ad revenue is attributable to them.
• According to the researchers, the study’s findings demonstrate the need for government regulation of social media platforms in the absence of industry self-regulation. 

Boston, MA—Social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube collectively derived nearly $11 billion in advertising revenue from U.S.-based users younger than 18 in 2022, according to a new study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The study is the first to offer estimates of the number of youth users on these platforms and how much annual ad revenue is attributable to them.

The study will be published on December 27, 2023, in PLOS ONE.

“As concerns about youth mental health grow, more and more policymakers are trying to introduce legislation to curtail social media platform practices that may drive depression, anxiety, and disordered eating in young people,” said senior author Bryn Austin, professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences. “Although social media platforms may claim that they can self-regulate their practices to reduce the harms to young people, they have yet to do so, and our study suggests they have overwhelming financial incentives to continue to delay taking meaningful steps to protect children.”

The researchers used a variety of public survey and market research data from 2021 and 2022 to comprehensively estimate Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X, and YouTube’s number of youth users and related ad revenue. Population data from the U.S. Census and survey data from Common Sense Media and Pew Research were used to estimate the number people younger than 18 using these platforms in the U.S. Data from eMarketer, a market research company, and Qustodio, a parental control app, provided estimations of each platform’s projected gross ad revenue in 2022 and users’ average minutes per day on each platform. The researchers used these estimations to build a simulation model that estimated how much ad revenue the platforms earned from young U.S. users.

The study found that in 2022, YouTube had 49.7 million U.S.-based users under age 18; TikTok, 18.9 million; Snapchat, 18 million; Instagram, 16.7 million; Facebook, 9.9 million; and X, 7 million. The platforms collectively generated nearly $11 billion in ad revenue from these users: $2.1 billion from users ages 12 and under and $8.6 billion from users ages 13-17. 

YouTube derived the greatest ad revenue from users 12 and under ($959.1 million), followed by Instagram ($801.1 million) and Facebook ($137.2 million). Instagram derived the greatest ad revenue from users ages 13-17 ($4 billion), followed by TikTok ($2 billion) and YouTube ($1.2 billion). The researchers also calculated that Snapchat derived the greatest share of its overall 2022 ad revenue from users under 18 (41%), followed by TikTok (35%), YouTube (27%), and Instagram (16%).

The researchers noted that the study had limitations, including that they relied on estimations and projections from public survey and market research sources, as social media platforms don’t disclose user age data or advertising revenue data by age group.

“Our finding that social media platforms generate substantial advertising revenue from youth highlights the need for greater data transparency as well as public health interventions and government regulations,” said lead author Amanda Raffoul, instructor in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Zachary Ward, assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Harvard Chan School, was also a co-author.

“Social media platforms generate billions of dollars in revenue from U.S. youth: Findings from a simulated revenue model,” Amanda Raffoul, Zachary J. Ward, Monique Santoso, Jill R. Kavanaugh, S. Bryn Austin, PLOS ONE, December 27, 2023, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295337

Visit the Harvard Chan School website for the latest news, press releases, and multimedia offerings.

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Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health brings together dedicated experts from many disciplines to educate new generations of global health leaders and produce powerful ideas that improve the lives and health of people everywhere. As a community of leading scientists, educators, and students, we work together to take innovative ideas from the laboratory to people’s lives—not only making scientific breakthroughs, but also working to change individual behaviors, public policies, and health care practices. Each year, more than 400 faculty members at Harvard Chan School teach 1,000-plus full-time students from around the world and train thousands more through online and executive education courses. Founded in 1913 as the Harvard-MIT School of Health Officers, the School is recognized as America’s oldest professional training program in public health.

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JOURNAL

PLoS ONE

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0295337 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Social media platforms generate billions of dollars in revenue from U.S. youth: Findings from a simulated revenue model

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

27-Dec-2023

BC
How this year of labour unrest could shape workers' rights in future — and the next federal election

CBC
Wed, December 27, 2023 

Locked out Rogers Communications workers protest in downtown Vancouver in November. The Rogers lockout was among a number of work stoppages in 2023, with experts saying labour discontent will likely have ripple effects in years to come. 

(Ben Nelms/CBC - image credit)

Labour and business professors say the past year of worker unrest in Canada is a positive sign for the labour movement overall, and could also be a factor in the next federal election.

There were a number of major strikes in B.C. alone that upended life for many in 2023 — including the two-week port strike that some business groups estimate cost them billions of dollars; a three-month-long transit strike in the Fraser Valley; and ongoing strikes at Rogers Sugar and Vancouver hotels.

Labour professors say strikes across the country capitalized on a feeling of anger toward business executives who saw profits increase during the pandemic, and that unions are likely to benefit in the long run from the sustained attention.

In addition, they say the upcoming federal election — along with imminent federal and provincial legislation on replacement and gig workers, respectively — will likely be shaped by the widespread labour action.

Statistics Canada data shows that two million "person days" were lost to work stoppages this year, the highest number in more than a decade. Person days are defined as the number of working days lost to stoppages multiplied by the number of employees

Fiona McQuarrie, professor emeritus at the University of the Fraser Valley's business school, says worker anger toward executives will not evaporate quickly in 2024 and beyond.

She points to the spiking cost of living as another reason for rising labour discontent, while, at the same time, some employers have sought to reduce costs after supply chain issues took a bite out of their bottom line.

"Coming out of the lockdowns related to the pandemic, both employers and employees had financial hits," said McQuarrie.

"I get the sense that both sides, in some respects when they're going into new collective agreements, are trying to regain some of the financial ground that they lost during COVID."

4 months into the Fraser Valley bus strike. 
The Fraser Valley Transit Strike was one of the longest in B.C.

 this year, lasting four months. (Justine Boulin/CBC)

Federal and provincial legislation

The cost-of-living crisis has sparked calls for major legislation to advance workers' rights, with one of the major ones being the newly introduced federal bill that would ban replacement workers in the event of a work stoppage.

John-Henry Harter, a lecturer in history and labour studies at Simon Fraser University, says the bill will likely be a net positive for workers and would help to shorten work stoppages in the years to come.

"It's just demonstrably true that if the employer can't bring in replacement workers, they're way more likely to get back to the bargaining table," he told CBC News.

"It has a real positive effect for workers — and, for people who like to think abstractly, for the economy generally."

B.C. already has "anti-scab" legislation in place, and the province recently introduced legislation to provide minimum standards of employment for gig workers like Uber drivers.

But Harter was critical of that bill, saying it created a "second tier" of workers who are not entirely covered by the Employment Standards Act.

"No employer can go below the minimums established … [in] the Employment Standards Act," he said, adding some of those minimums include the right for workers to take breaks on the job and for employers to pay wages due if an employee quits.

"The legislation, as it stands, allows employers companies who hire gig workers to go below that. That's a huge problem and it's shocking."

A spokesperson for B.C.'s Ministry of Labour told CBC News in an email that the provincial gig workers' legislation would extend workers' compensation coverage to ride-hailing and food delivery workers.

Gig app companies would be responsible for registering with WorkSafeBC and reporting any injuries or accidents, according to the spokesperson.

However, Harter said in the long run the legislation might lead to workers in the sector unionizing, given that it acknowledges gig workers are employees.

The sector has previously been difficult to organize due to companies treating gig workers as independent contractors.

Voters' views

Despite the numerous work stoppages in 2023, union membership has largely stayed stable in Canada over the last two decades — with Statistics Canada finding 28.7 per cent of all Canadians were part of a union in their primary job last year.

But Harter said sectors previously resistant to unions, like chain cafés and restaurants, have seen a rise in organizing in 2023 — and the trend that could see an upsurge in unionization in general, even if that could take decades to bear fruit.

In addition, both Harter and McQuarrie said the strikes will be on voters' minds before they head to the polls for the next federal election, which will take place in or before October 2025.

Images of strikers and cargo boats in the harbour of the Vancouver Port Strike on Friday, July 7th, 2023. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union's strike at B.C. ports caused supply chain issues that might stick in the minds of some voters come election time, according to UFV professor Fiona McQuarrie. 

(Justine Boulin/CBC)

Harter says some voters are likely to have applauded Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party for not ordering striking port workers back to work.

He says the Liberals may try to appeal to a broad base by pointing to their dealings with that particular strike, as well as the federal workers' strike. At the same time, however, he added some voters may side with Conservative Leader Pierre Polievre's stance that port workers should have been ordered back to work.

McQuarrie says she is curious whether the federal NDP's confidence-and-supply agreement with the ruling Liberals will be held up as a reason to support the New Democrats again in the eyes of organized labour.

"On one hand, there is probably a section of the voters that saw the disruption that major events like the port strike caused … they're still seeing the reverberations from that," the professor said.

"But I think equally, there's also another section of the voters that would say that unions are one of the few organizations that have legal power to stand up and advocate for employees, and that we should be supporting that and encouraging that."

U.S. actors secured AI protections. When will Canadians get the same?

CBC
Wed, December 27, 2023 

Toronto-based actor, casting director and producer Rebecca Lamarche says new regulations around artificial intelligence and streaming in the U.S. don't go far enough to protect performers. (Cameron Bartlett - image credit)

As a Toronto-based actor, Rebecca Lamarche's image is crucial to her success and it's her job to ensure no one exploits it for personal gain — at least for the time being.

That's because Canadian performers currently have no protections around the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to replicate their likeness.

"Any kind of art and medium is being adapted now with artificial intelligence," said Lamarche, who is also a casting director and producer.

"It's here, it's coming. But it is definitely changing the game and it's changing the world as we know it."

In May, members of the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) went on the longest actors' strike in Hollywood's history with protection from the use of AI among the sticking points.

Union members voted Dec. 6 toratify the three-year contract with studios. According to the deal, AI reproductions of actors can now only be used with their informed consent and compensation.

The union representing 28,000 Canadian actors says work is underway to bring those same protections — and then some — to Canada.

"Bargaining starts the day the last bargaining finishes," said Alistair Hepburn, executive director of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) Toronto.

ACTRA says AI protections are priority

Negotiations for ACTRA's Independent Production Agreement (IPA) could begin as early as next summer. They must be wrapped up by Dec. 31, 2024.

AI is set to top the agenda, along with compensation for actors for streaming shows.

The negotiation will "take some time," said Hepburn.

"There are going to be some expectations and some requirements that we're going to need to see in order to ensure that we have equal, if not better, protections than the performers in the U.S."

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher hugs a member of the TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee member on Nov. 10. Less than a month later, Hollywood's actors voted to ratify the deal with studios, bringing an official end to the labour strike that shook the entertainment industry for months in 2023.

 (Richard Vogel/The Associated Press)

ACTRA Toronto is trying to get a better sense of how concerned its actors are by the use of AI.

Hepburn says a recent survey garnered one of the best response rates in the union's history, with 98 per cent of respondents saying they are concerned about the potential misuse of their name, image and likeness.

"I think performers realize just what [AI] means to them and what the potential new guardrails are going to need to be for them to feel comfortable to continue to do the work and know that there's longevity in their career," Hepburn said.

To make matters more complex, ACTRA's IPA contracts last three years, which Hepburn says is a long time considering how fast technology is developing.

A University of Toronto lecturer on technology and business agrees.

Daniel Tsai is a lecturer in law and business technology at University of Toronto and Toronto Metropolitan University.

Daniel Tsai is a lecturer in law and business technology at University of Toronto and Toronto Metropolitan University. He describes AI as the 'wild west,' adding that there are limited regulations to protect performers from the rapidly-advancing technology. (James Dunne/CBC)

"There is now a mutual understanding with respect to the exploitation of an actor's likeness, voice, image and personality [in the U.S.]," said Daniel Tsai, who is also a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University's Ted Rogers School of Management.

"The issue is there's no regulatory system in place outside of that."

No regulations for non-union performers

There are many productions in both Canada and the U.S. that aren't union based, Tsai says, leaving it up to the performer or their agent to negotiate compensation with studios.

"People have been known to give away their rights without knowing better," he said.

"In the big scheme of things, there's effectively very little protection for creator rights."

Tsai says his hope is that Canadian producers will adhere to protections in the U.S. "But that's really based on good faith."

"This is an industry that created Harvey Weinstein," he said. "So it doesn't always mean it acts on good faith. That exploitation of talent is always there."

Those concerns have been echoed by many Hollywood actors, who argued the deal wasn't specific enough on AI protections.

'How is this going to be regulated?'

Questions loom about certain sections of the deal — specifically the portions requiring AI contracts to include a "reasonably specific description" of the intended use.

Lamarche fears some producers might try to find loopholes.

"They don't have strict rules," she said. "At the end of the day, how is this going to be regulated or monitored?"

While Lamarche said she's confident that some will be conscientious about rule following, not everyone will.

"People are people. There's going to be many more who are going to be looking to flip a buck and do it under the radar."

Rebecca Lamarche is the co-founder of the production company CandourPictures, which launched this fall. (Cameron Bartlett)

Lamarche hopes ACTRA's next deal with the studios expands the categories that define how performers are compensated.

"Everything's broken down: singer, choreographer, chorus," she said.

"They should have a category for scanning your body or a category for a digital replica."

Even if Canada's largest acting union can secure more rigorous protections, she's concerned this is only the start of AI issues.

"I think ultimately it is going to really minimize the amount of work there is," she said.

"Not in the next couple of years, but in the broad future."

Premier claims former PC government tried to ram through silica mining approval days after Manitoba election


CBC
Wed, December 27, 2023 

An Alberta miner wants to dig as many as 7,200 wells over the next 24 years in order to extract ultra-pure silica, a commodity sought by producers of solar panels, new batteries and semiconductors. (Gary Solilak/CBC - image credit)

Premier Wab Kinew claims the former Progressive Conservative government tried to approve an Alberta mining company's proposal to drill for sand in southeastern Manitoba days after the Tories lost the provincial election in October.

Former PC cabinet minister Kevin Klein corroborates Kinew's allegation of an attempted breach of the caretaker convention, where outgoing governments are supposed to only engage in urgent, routine, reversible or uncontroversial operations during the brief period before the next government is sworn in.

But a fellow former PC cabinet minister, Jeff Wharton, denies Kinew and Klein's claims. He insists his government respected the caretaker convention and merely briefed the NDP transition team about the status of the file regarding Alberta-based Sio Silica.

The NDP won Manitoba's provincial election on Oct. 3. The PCs continued to govern until Oct. 17, when Kinew was sworn in as premier.

Kinew's office said the PCs attempted on Oct. 6 — three days into the post-election transition period — to approve Sio Silica's proposal to drill as many as 7,200 wells in southeastern Manitoba over the next 24 years in an effort to extract up to 33 million tonnes of ultra-pure silica sand.

The areas in yellow demarcate Sio Silica's subsurface mineral claims in southern Manitoba, according to documents filed with Manitoba's Clean Environment Commission. (CBC News Graphics)

The Clean Environment Commission, Manitoba's environmental regulator, recommended in June against any immediate decision about the project until more is known about the effects of removing that much sand from the Winnipeg sandstone aquifer, a source of drinking water for thousands. A second technical review of the project was underway.

Kinew said the PCs nonetheless tried to "ram this through" and paint the approval of Sio Silica as an administrative, not political matter.

"I was surprised on a Friday afternoon to understand that one of the first actions of our new government could potentially be the approval of this mine. They made the argument that it wasn't up to us as an incoming government. We said we're going to put a stop to that," Kinew said in an interview last week.

"We said we're an incoming government. We think that our future minister, who is not sworn in yet or even been announced publicly, should be the one to have a say, at least in this decision."

Former Kirkfield Park MLA Klein, who served as environment and climate minister in the former PC government, said there was indeed an effort by the PCs to breach the caretaker convention.

But Klein said it was him, not the incoming NDP government, who put the brakes on approving the mining proposal.

Klein said Wharton, who served as the PC minister responsible for economic development and mining, asked Klein to sign off on the approval.

"I received a request to approve the project following the election. I strongly declined for three reasons," Klein said last week in an interview.

Premier Wab Kinew, seen here days after he was sworn in, claims the former PC government tried to ram through approval for Sio Silica during the transition period. (Travis Golby/CBC)

"First, because we lost the election and it would have been inappropriate to approve something like this in the transitional period between governments. Second, because I had serious concerns with this project [and] third, I gave my word to residents that the decision would be made by experts.

"Now in saying that, I was extremely disappointed this was even proposed in the transition period."

Klein said he backed up concerns voiced by provincial staff the proposal should not be approved at that time.

"My foremost duty is to the residents and not to succumb to pressure to make a decision that isn't what I believe to be morally correct," he said.

Wharton said in an interview he did not ask Klein to approve the proposal and denied any member of his government tried to approve the project during the transition period.

Manitoba Minister of Municipal Relations Jeff Wharton, photographed on Nov. 15, 2017.
Former PC economic development minister Jeff Wharton denied Kinew and Klein's claims. He said his government briefed the NDP about Sio Silica during the transition period. (Tyson Koschik/CBC)

"This claim is false. Truly false. I ensure due process was followed," Wharton said in an interview last week.

The Red River North MLA said a second technical review of the project and Indigenous consultations were underway as the election took place.

He said his government merely informed the NDP transition team that Sio Silica officials were curious to know about the timelines for approving their proposal.

"It's incumbent on us to ensure that we share that relevant information with the incoming government, which was done during the transition," Wharton said.

"The caretaker convention was 100 per cent respected, needs to be, and certainly that's the way our government conducted themselves. The incoming NDP government again was fully informed that the proponent — in this particular case Sio — sought clarity on timelines so that the government could make a licensing decision.

"So we got to the point where we handed the files over. We said 'Here you go.' "

Wharton said only politics can explain why Kinew and Klein, who campaigned strongly against each other during the provincial election, would both make similar allegations.

"My focus is always ensuring that we're creating economic development and jobs and a sustainable economy for Manitobans," he said. "That was my focus when I was outgoing and I continued to ensure that those files and that process, hopefully, would move on to the new government."

Kinew said the PC effort to push through approval for the Sio Silica proposal has led his government to apply more scrutiny to Sio Silica's proposal.

Environment Minister Kevin Klein is now claiming to have DNA evidence to support his ancestry claims. He's refused to answer questions about it, as he hints at legal action following a CBC News investigation into his ancestry claims. Former PC environment Minister Kevin Klein says he was asked to sign off the Sio Silica proposal during the transition period between the PC and NDP governments. He said he refused to do so.

 (Ian Froese/CBC)

"What that means in brass tacks, what that means in practice, is it has caused us to question the legwork that was done on the Sio project: the economic rationale, the environmental approval, the work that was done around consultation with Indigenous nations. We are revisiting all that," the premier said.

Officials with Sio Silica did not respond to requests for comment last week.

Kinew nonetheless insisted the NDP government wants to support the critical minerals sector in Manitoba. High-quality silica is one those minerals because it is sought by producers of solar panels, new batteries and semiconductors.

"I think there's a real case to be made that Manitoba has critical minerals like silica that can be brought to market with higher environmental standards, higher labour standards and respect for human rights, than almost any other jurisdiction in the world," Kinew said.

"So we're very interested in a project like Sio that could potentially drive economic development and help with greenhouse-gas emissions. But the way that the previous government tried to ram this through has caused us to take a step back and ask a lot of questions about the legwork leading up to a potential approval."

During the election, former NDP environment critic Lisa Naylor skirted questions about whether or not an NDP government would approve the Sio Silica proposal.

The file is now handled by Tracy Schmidt, the NDP minister of environment and climate change.

BOOMING ALBERTA
Program for low-income Calgarians to apply for city discounts grows by 34% in 2023

CBC
Wed, December 27, 2023 

Calgarians can sign up for the Fair Entry program at city hall or online. (Scott Dippel/CBC - image credit)

Tens of thousands more Calgarians signed up for the city's Fair Entry program this year.

Fair Entry allows low-income Calgarians to fill out a single form to qualify for subsidized rates for seven different city programs.

That includes things like cut-rate transit passes, reduced fares at city recreation facilities, property tax assistance and no-cost spay/neuter services for pets.

Access to the program is limited to those on provincial income supports, people with Canada Revenue Agency-verified low income levels or those with a letter from a social worker.

A city official confirmed to CBC News that there has been a 34 per cent increase in participation in the program this year, compared to 2022 levels.

The team lead for social supports, Lisa Davis, said there were 113,000 Calgarians enrolled in the program in early December.

That's up from 84,000 people in October and 97,000 in November.

Specifics not tracked

The reasons for the increase aren't exactly clear.

Davis said it may be related to more people being on provincial support programs like Alberta Works or AISH (Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped).

It could also be related to growing numbers of people migrating to Calgary from elsewhere in Canada and from other countries.

She said, while the increase in applications likely isn't connected to any single factor, the reasons people apply are not being tracked by the city.

"We never want to transfer a burden to the person living with low income in gathering additional information or making that application process more difficult," said Davis.

The city program has been in place since 2015 and is designed to reduce the financial burdens on applicants who are seeking access to subsidized programs.

"They can do everything through a single point of entry, really preserving their dignity and reducing the barrier to application."

Not a surprise

The executive director of Vibrant Communities Calgary, Meaghon Reid, said she's not surprised by the increase in applications.

The organization stewards Calgary's poverty reduction strategy, known as Enough for All.

Reid said increasing numbers of Canadians are under economic pressure due to things like higher interest rates, rising rents, inflation, as well as higher utility bills and food bills.

"Increasingly, we're hearing that a lot of Calgarians can't square the circle like the way they used to. They used to be able to meet all their basic needs, maybe have some money left over. That's simply not the case anymore," said Reid.

"So Fair Entry may be a way they can reduce costs so they can put that money into other things."

Greater awareness

With more people reaching out to food banks or calling 211 for help dealing with tight budgets, Reid said it's possible there's also a growing awareness of the Fair Entry program through referrals and that's resulting in more applications.

She said her organization did a recent study on homelessness and found about 115,000 Calgarians are in danger of losing shelter.

With the subsidized rates that are accessible through Fair Entry, Reid said helping people find a way to save $100 or $150 a month could help them stave off homelessness.

For comparison, Reid said the Fair Entry program had more than 106,000 people enrolled prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is another number or reference point that we have to the number of people that are struggling with some of that income poverty in our city," said Reid.

Information about the Fair Entry program can be found on the city's website.

REST IN POWER 

Comedian Tom Smothers, one-half of the Smothers Brothers, dies at 86

Wed, December 27, 2023 



Tom Smothers, half of the Smothers Brothers and the co-host of one of the most socially conscious and groundbreaking television shows in the history of the medium, has died at 86.

The National Comedy Center, on behalf of his family, said in a statement Wednesday that Smothers died Tuesday at home in Santa Rosa, California, following a cancer battle.

“I'm just devastated,” his brother and the duo's other half, Dick Smothers, told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday. “Every breath I’ve taken, my brother’s been around.”

When "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" debuted on CBS in the fall of 1967 it was an immediate hit, to the surprise of many who had assumed the network’s expectations were so low it positioned their show opposite the top-rated "Bonanza."

But the Smothers Brothers would prove a turning point in television history, with its sharp eye for pop culture trends and young rock stars such as the Who and Buffalo Springfield, and its daring sketches — ridiculing the Establishment, railing against the Vietnam War and portraying members of the era's hippie counterculture as gentle, fun-loving spirits — found an immediate audience with young baby boomers.

“We were moderate. We were never out there,” Dick Smothers said. “But we were the first people through that door. It just sort of crept in as the '60s crept in. We were part of that generation.”

The show reached No. 16 in the ratings in its first season. It also drew the ire of network censors. After years of battling with the brothers over the show's creative content, the network abruptly canceled the program in 1970, accusing the siblings of failing to submit an episode in time for the censors to review.

Nearly 40 years later, when Smothers was awarded an honorary Emmy for his work on the show, he jokingly thanked the writers he said had gotten him fired. He also showed that the years had not dulled his outspokenness.

“It’s hard for me to stay silent when I keep hearing that peace is only attainable through war,” Smothers said at the 2008 Emmy Awards as his brother sat in the audience, beaming. He dedicated his award to those “who feel compelled to speak out and are not afraid to speak to power and won’t shut up.”

During the three years the show was on television, the brothers constantly battled with CBS censors and occasionally outraged viewers as well, particularly when Smothers joked that Easter “is when Jesus comes out of his tomb and if he sees his shadow, he goes back in and we get six more weeks of winter.” At Christmas, when other hosts were sending best wishes to soldiers fighting overseas, Smothers offered his to draft dodgers who had moved to Canada.

In still another episode, the brothers returned blacklisted folk singer Pete Seeger to television for the first time in years. He performed his song “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy,” widely viewed as ridiculing President Lyndon Johnson. When CBS refused to air the segment, the brothers brought Seeger back for another episode and he sang it again. This time, it made the air.

After the show was canceled, the brothers sued CBS for $31 million and were awarded $775,000. Their battles with the network were chronicled in the 2002 documentary “Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.”

“Tom Smothers was not only an extraordinary comedic talent, who, together with his brother Dick, became the most enduring comedy duo in history, entertaining the world for over six decades — but was a true champion for freedom of speech,” National Comedy Center Executive Director Journey Gunderson said in a statement.

Thomas Bolyn Smothers III was born Feb. 2, 1937, on Governors Island, New York, where his father, an Army major, was stationed. His brother was born two years later. In 1940 their father was transferred to the Philippines, and his wife, two sons and their sister, Sherry, accompanied him.

When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the family was sent home and Maj. Smothers remained. He was captured by the Japanese during the war and died in captivity. The family eventually moved to the Los Angeles suburb of Redondo Beach, where Smothers helped his mother take care of his brother and sister while she worked.

“Tommy was the greatest older brother. He took care of me,” Dick Smothers said. "His maturity was amazing. Sometimes you lose part of your childhood.”

The brothers had seemed unlikely to make television history. They had spent several years on the nightclub and college circuits and doing TV guest appearances, honing an offbeat comedy routine that mixed folk music with a healthy dose of sibling rivalry.

They would come on stage, Tom with a guitar in hand and Dick toting an upright bass. They would quickly break into a traditional folk song — perhaps “John Henry” or “Pretoria.” After playing several bars, Tom, positioned as the dumb one despite being older, would mess up, then quickly claim he had meant to do that. As Dick, the serious, short-tempered one, berated him for failing to acknowledge his error, he would scream in exasperation, “Mom always liked you best!”

“It was the childlike enthusiasm through ignorance, and me, the teacher, correcting him — sometimes I’d correct him even if I was wrong,” Dick Smothers said. “I was the perfect straight man for my brother. I was the only straight man for my brother.”

They continued that shtick on their show but also surrounded themselves with a talented cast of newcomers, both writers and performers.

Future actor-filmmaker Rob Reiner was among those on the crack writing crew the brothers assembled.

“Tommy was funny, smart, and a fighter,” Reiner said on social media Wednesday. “He created a ground breaking show that celebrated all that was good about American Democracy.”

Other writers included musician Mason Williams and comedian Steve Martin, who presented Smothers with the lifetime Emmy. Regular musical guests included John Hartford, Glen Campbell and Jennifer Warnes.

The brothers had begun their own act when Tom, then a student at San Jose State College, formed a music group called the Casual Quintet and encouraged his younger brother to learn the bass and join. The brothers continued on as a duo after the other musicians dropped out, but began interspersing comedy with their limited folk music repertoire.

“We never wrote anything, we just made it up, and tried to remember what we made up,” Dick Smothers said. “I just responded to Tom, if he said something that wasn’t in the bit, I wouldn’t stick to the script, I would listen."

The brothers' big break came in 1959 when they appeared at San Francisco’s Purple Onion, then a hot spot for new talent. Booked for two weeks, they stayed a record 36. They had a similar run at New York’s Blue Angel. But to their disappointment, they couldn’t get on “The Tonight Show,” then hosted by Jack Paar.

“Paar kept telling our agent he didn’t like folk singers — except for Burl Ives,” Smothers told the AP in 1964. “But one night he had a cancellation, and we went on. Everything worked right that night.”

Dick Smothers said Wednesday that “we weren’t that good when we were on ‘The Tonight Show.' We were just charmingly different.”

The brothers went on to appear on the TV shows of Ed Sullivan, Jack Benny and Judy Garland, among others. Their comedy albums were big sellers and they toured the country, especially colleges.

Before their more vaunted show, the duo got a sitcom in 1965. “The Smothers Brothers Show" was about a businessman (Dick) haunted by his late brother (Tom), a fledgling guardian angel. It lasted just one season.

Shortly after CBS canceled the “Comedy Hour,” ABC picked it up as a summer replacement, but the network didn’t bring it back in the fall. NBC gave them a show in 1975 but it failed to find an audience and lasted only a season. The brothers went their separate ways for a time. Among other endeavors, Smothers got into the wine business, launching Remick Ridge Vineyards in Northern California’s wine country.

“Originally the winery was called Smothers Brothers, but I changed the name to Remick Ridge because when people heard Smothers Brothers wine, they thought something like Milton Berle Fine Wine or Larry, Curly and Mo Vineyards,” Smothers once said.

They eventually reunited to star in the musical comedy “I Love My Wife,” a hit that ran on Broadway for two years. After that they went back on the road, playing casinos, performing arts centers and corporate gatherings around the country, remaining popular for decades.

“We just keep resurfacing,” Smothers commented in 1997. “We’re just not in everyone’s face long enough to really get old.”

After a successful 20th anniversary “Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” in 1988, CBS buried the hatchet and brought them back.

The show was quickly canceled, though it stayed on the air long enough for Smothers to introduce the “Yo-Yo Man,” a bit allowing him to demonstrate his considerable skills with a yo-yo while he and his brother kept up a steady patter of comedy. The bit remained in their act for years.

“It was like a great marriage, you go through some rough spots, but you still don’t lose that focus,” Dick Smothers said.

They retired in 2010, but returned for a series of shows in 2021 that would be their last before Tom Smothers' illness left him unable to continue.

“The audience exploded,” Dick Smothers said of those shows. “It was like a clap of thunder. They were young again.”

Smothers married three times and had three children. He is survived by his wife Marcy, children Bo and Riley Rose, and brother Dick, in addition to other relatives. He was predeceased by his son Tom and sister Sherry.

___

This story has been updated to correct that Smothers’ father was in the Army, not the Navy, and that his wife's name is Marcy, not Marie.

___

Dalton reported from Los Angeles. Moore, a longtime Associated Press television writer, retired in 2017. Former Associated Press journalists John Rogers and the late Bob Thomas contributed to this report.

Frazier Moore And Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press

B.C. government removes Kamloops municipal adviser

CBC
Wed, December 27, 2023 

B.C. Liberal MLA Peter Fassbender has been removed from his role as Kamloops municipal adviser after being appointed earlier this month. (CBC - image credit)

The province has cancelled the contract of Peter Fassbender, a municipal adviser for Kamloops, B.C.

Fassbender was appointed in early December to help Kamloops councillors navigate a fractious relationship with Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson.

The former provincial cabinet minister told CBC News he had already begun interviewing councillors in preparation for the role, but the province informed him on Friday that he would be out of the job in the new year.

The province has released little information about the change — and Fassbender says he is dumbfounded.

"The ministry representatives that called me simply said that the government had decided to take a different direction, and that's the only explanation that I received," Fassbender told CBC News.

In a written statement, a spokesperson for B.C.'s Municipal Affairs Ministry repeated what they told Fassbender.

"The focus continues to be on helping the Kamloops City Council resolve its challenges so the people of Kamloops can be best served by their elected officials," the spokesperson wrote. "We will work quickly with the city to determine the best fit for a new adviser."

Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson, pictured in the grey suit in the centre, sits next to several city councillors during their swearing-in ceremony in November 2022. The city's councillors passed a unanimous motion to ask for a municipal adviser earlier this year. 

(Marcella Bernardo/CBC)

CBC News has reached out to the City of Kamloops for this story.

Municipal advisers are independent contractors, with costs covered by the province, and are expected to provide a final report to mayor and council, the Municipal Affairs Ministry said in a statement earlier this month. They can be appointed on the direction of the council in question, with the municipal affairs minister having the final say.

A municipal adviser is currently in place in Silverton, B.C., the ministry said earlier this month.

There have been four other occasions when a municipal adviser was employed in B.C.: Harrison Hot Springs and Lions Bay this year, Wells last year, and McBride in 2017.

Dysfunctional council

Kamloops council has faced its fair share of public spats and controversies since Hamer-Jackson's election win in October 2022.

The mayor, a newcomer to politics who ran on a platform emphasizing safety and accountability, had told CBC News he welcomed Fassbender's appointment earlier this month.

His appointment came after an unusual unanimous vote by Kamloops city council in October to ask for provincial help amid a defamation suit, investigations, and concerns surrounding the first-time mayor's conduct.

Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson is pictured on March 17, 2023.
Hamer-Jackson has faced a number of controversies since he was elected last year. 

(Jenifer Norwell/CBC)

Hamer-Jackson is currently suing Coun. Katie Neustaeter for defamation, after she said at a March press conference alongside her seven fellow councillors that they had been "subjected to repeated disrespect, violations of personal and professional boundaries, belittling and constantly disruptive behaviour by the mayor."

That alleged behaviour was the subject of a workplace investigation earlier this year, and another probe is underway regarding the mayor's decision to record a phone call with the city's top administrator.

Hamer-Jackson also made headlines when he feuded with the city's fire chief over a torched SUV sitting on a used car lot owned by the mayor. The vehicle, which was deemed a fire risk, was subsequently towed.

Fassbender told CBC News he had begun virtual interviews with the mayor, councillors and city staff, and was doing his due diligence for the role. He was informed on Dec. 22 that he would be let go, with his contract officially expiring on Jan. 2.

Fassbender said he had not had conversations with councillors or the mayor about the sudden change, and said it would be inappropriate for him to comment further on Kamloops politics as he was no longer involved.

UCP REPLACED SCIENCE WITH MORALISM
Alberta RCMP responded to twice the number of overdose calls in 2023 compared to previous year


CBC
Wed, December 27, 2023


Alberta RCMP said they responded to 1,026 suspected drug overdoses between January 2023 and November 2023. (CBC - image credit)

Alberta RCMP say they've seen a more than 100-per cent increase in the number of overdoses they've responded to in 2023 compared to the previous year.

On Wednesday Alberta RCMP said they were called to 1,026 suspected drug overdoses between January 2023 and November 2023, compared to 511 throughout all of 2022.

RCMP are not the only body that responds to overdose calls — local police jurisdictions including the Calgary Police Service, Edmonton Police Service and Alberta Health Services also respond to overdose calls.

"Even just in our jurisdictions, what we've had to respond to — it has gone up," said Cpl. Mathew Howell, Alberta RCMP public information officer.

According to data from the province's substance use surveillance system, between January and September 2023, 1,411 people have died of opioid poisoning deaths.

The surveillance system is updated as data is received from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

RCMP say many of the overdoses are due, in part, to Alberta's fentanyl supply being cut with other drugs that are easier and cheaper to access. That, they say, means more doses of naloxone are needed to save a person's life.

Naloxone, also known as Narcan, reverses effects of an opioid and can stop an overdose.

"We're just trying to kind of give that warning to people that there are some other aspects that we're seeing now. There's other things being mixed in. It's not always going to be your normal fentanyl dose. It's not always going to be just fentanyl," Howell said.

"Unfortunately, the fentanyl supply is so volatile and so unpredictable that people are struggling with just the dosage rates," said Euan Thomson, an independent Calgary researcher who writes the Drug Data Decoded newsletter.

He said it's hard to know exactly what is in street drugs, due to lack of regulation, but rat poison, sugars, caffeine, and benzodiazepines are all possibilities.

He added that some fentanyl poisonings do require more naloxone than they had previously, but he advised people to continue to carry and use it.

On Christmas Day, work went on for overdose prevention workers in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside

CBC
Wed, December 27, 2023 

Tents are seen on the sidewalk in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside in April 2023. While some spent time with loved ones on Christmas Day, Vancouver's Overdose Prevention Society continued to work — and help save lives.

 (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press - image credit)

On Christmas Day, Trey Helten and colleagues at Vancouver's Overdose Prevention Society were still at work, helping the latest victim of what Helten says is a seasonal spike in the drug toxicity crisis.

Helten shared a photo and a story on social media on Monday describing how he and colleagues administered Naloxone to a man who had overdosed and stopped breathing on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

"At a time of the year when it's supposed to be family togetherness, you lose someone that you care about. It can be extremely devastating,'' said Helten in an interview.

"So, the reason I posted it was just to bring awareness to it. It wasn't to be exploitive or anything. At least we prevented one family from getting a call that their loved one is deceased."

Helten's photo, shared on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, shows a man lying on the street and being tended to.

A plastic bag decorated with Santa Claus logos, that Helten said contained the man's belongings, is torn open on the ground.

Helten said the overdose prevention society runs several tents across Vancouver's Downtown Eastside neighbourhood, including one on East Hastings Street.

He said that around noon on Christmas Day, staff noticed a man on the corner "slumped over and purple,'' indicating a lack of oxygen.

Helten said they gave him shots of Naloxone. "Thankfully, he still had a pulse and we started giving him oxygen and he started vomiting,'' Helten said.

He said Vancouver Fire Rescue Services and B.C. Ambulance Service paramedics arrived and took over caring for the man.

"The last thing he remembered was taking a hit of crack cocaine or what he thought was crack cocaine. But it turns out it was fentanyl, he turned blue and overdosed,'' said Helten.

Fentanyl is pictured in January 2023 in Vancouver. Geoff Clark with the Vancouver Fire Rescue Services said crews responded to multiple overdose incidents in the Downtown Eastside on Christmas Day.

 (Ben Nelms/CBC)

Brian Twaites, a paramedic public information officer with B.C. Emergency Health Services, said two ambulance crews responded on Hastings Street after receiving a call at noon on Christmas Day.

Twaites said paramedics cared for one patient who was taken to hospital.

Geoff Clark, Vancouver Fire Rescue Services acting assistant chief of operations, said crews responded to multiple overdose incidents in the Downtown Eastside on Christmas Day.

A seasonal increase in overdoses

Helten said the incident highlighted a "reoccurring'' issue, in which the toxic drug supply combines with the holiday season in a destructive fashion.

"Christmas is a really hard time for a lot of people and maybe some people are sad and they want to use drugs to deal with trauma and it can lead to an overdose,'' said Helten.

The B.C. Coroners Service has also warned of a seasonal increase in overdoses.

The service issued a statement in mid-December about the apparent spike, saying the province had averaged about seven deaths per day in recent weeks.

"Unregulated drug deaths in the winter months have historically increased over the numbers reported during the rest of the year, so this early increase could be a sign of another challenging season for people who use drugs in B.C.,'' it said in a news release.

Two participants in an August 2022 march marking International Overdose Awareness Day on take a break on Vancouver's East Hastings Street. The B.C. Coroners Service has warned of a seasonal increase in overdoses, saying the province had averaged about seven deaths per day in recent weeks. 

(Ben Nelms/CBC)

In an update issued at the end of last month, the service said unregulated drugs had claimed at least 2,039 lives in the first 10 months of the year.

It said at least 13,317 people had died due to unregulated drugs in B.C. since a public-health emergency was declared in April 2016.

The service said unregulated drug toxicity was the leading cause of death in B.C. for people aged 10 to 59, accounting for more deaths than homicides, accidents and natural disasters combined.

Helten said the numbers have been reflected in the community he loves.

"I look around on the Downtown Eastside and I just see the dwindling community," Helten said.

"Every year it gets smaller and smaller and smaller and less people around."

Newfoundland and Labrador 

St. John's authors team up to launch new publishing house After Books

CBC
Wed, December 27, 2023 

Authors Amanda Labonté, left, and Kelley Power teamed up to form a new publishing company in January. Nearly a year later, the duo have published their first two titles under the After Books banner. (Elizabeth Whitten/CBC)

St. John's authors Amanda Labonté and Kelley Power have teamed up to form Newfoundland and Labrador's newest publishing company — After Books.

The company was formed nearly a year ago, but recently released its first two titles: Admit Strangers: The Forgotten History of the Newfoundland & Labrador Press Gallery Association by Michael Connors and Close Calls with Nature, an anthology edited by Gord Follett.

"There's ample room in the market for books. As you're probably aware, every publisher that's there is receiving more manuscripts than they can ever publish," Power, After Books' director of corporate affairs, told CBC News.

"We just thought that there was definitely an avenue there for more stories to be told."

Power said they're interested in anthologies and short stories as well as leaning into politics, things she said existing local publishers aren't focused on.

Another anthology, Tales I was Told, will be released this February, said Power. She said the company plans to release three to four books per year.

Both Labonté and Power are writers who work in small family businesses. Labonté has a tutoring business and Power has worked in communications as well as with a commercial cleaning company with her father.

They are joined by Gabriella Fischer as their publishing advisor.

Fischer has extensive experience in the publishing world, having worked with McClelland and Stewart before moving onto the rights department at Tundra Books. She currently works for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.

Space for local books

Labonté, After Books' editor and publisher, said people in N.L. support local arts, whether its theatre, television or music. Books are no different.

"We're just kind of trying to give more opportunities to tell more stories in a way that is accessible to people," she said. "If we could bottle it, we could sell it across the country for sure."

Power said people want to see their own stories represented.

The Association of Canadian Publishers executive director Jack Illingworth says that's exactly the case in N.L.

Association of Canadian Publishers executive director Jack Illingworth, said Newfoundland and Labrador is a unique region in the country when it comes to supporting its authors.

Jack Illingworth, Association of Canadian Publishers executive director, says Newfoundland and Labrador is a unique region in the country when it comes to supporting its own authors. (Maria Chu/Submitted by Jack Illingworth)

"I'd say there's just a curiosity and an interest in the cultural identity of Newfoundland and Labrador and the community stories that come out of that's really, you know, heightened compared to the way communities over much of the rest of Canada relate to their own stories and their own culture," he said.

He compares N.L. to Quebec in that regard — two provinces leading the way in terms of consuming stories about their own cultures.

It can be advantageous for a publishing company just getting started to focus on a smaller geographical area, as opposed to having to hire a large distribution company, Illingworth said. Smaller companies can also go after places beyond the usual book stores, like corner stores.

Labonté said her company's books can be ordered through its website as well as in Coles bookstores, adding they just got into Downhome Distribution, which will get their titles into stores across N.L.

Labonté is married to Connors, who is broadcaster with NTV News. She called his book "foundational" and that it can be used by journalists, the public and students alike.

"There's enough of these stories that I think that there's room for everybody to kind of get in on that. But yeah, getting those foundational works out is huge," said Labonté.

Follett was the editor of the now-folded Newfoundland Sportsman magazine and is Labonté's stepfather.

Turning the page

This year was just the right time to launch a publishing company, both Labonté and Power said.

Labonté said her tutoring business is doing well and doesn't require her to be as hands on as it used to. Her children are also getting older.

Kelley Power and Amanda Labonté have released two books through their new publishing company After Books.

Kelley Power, left, and Amanda Labonté drummed up the idea for After Books in the fall of 2022. (Submitted by Amanda Labonté)

"It was an opportunity to kind of branch out into something that I was kind of already really interested in," said Labonté.

"So taking a small business and putting it with books is kind of something I always wanted to do. … It lined up and then I convinced Kelley that this was what she wanted to do as well."

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ECOCIDE

Province reviewing AIM response to fire report, no timeline for licence decision

CBC
Wed, December 27, 2023 

Piles of scrap metal at AIM's west side operation caught fire 

at around 1 a.m. on Sept. 14, 2023

(Submitted by Ed Moyer - image credit)

The New Brunswick government says American Iron and Metal has submitted its response to a report about the fire at its Saint John scrapyard, but the province has yet to decide whether to revoke the company's licence.

Public Safety Minister Kris Austin gave the Quebec company, known as AIM, until 11:59 p.m. last Friday to respond after the release of a task force report examining the Sept. 14 fire.

On Wednesday, spokesperson Bruce Macfarlane said in an email that the company responded before the deadline and that the minister is reviewing the information. Macfarlane said there's no timeline for a decision.

Austin gave the deadline in a Dec. 8 letter to the company, saying he wanted the response before making a decision on revoking its licence.

The September fire burned for 40 hours, sending a toxic smoke over the city and requiring 22 million gallons of water to extinguish. A shelter-in-place order was issued for the city.

The task force report released Dec. 5 found the city's fire department wasn't sufficiently equipped to fight the fire, AIM didn't have a proper emergency plan, the scrap piles were more than the six metres prescribed by the National Fire Code of Canada, the operation carried a "significant risk of explosion and fire," and there was a high likelihood of another fire in the future.

The report also said the location near homes "is entirely inappropriate given its now known hazards and risks."

The company issued a public statement Dec. 6 saying it was reviewing the findings and had commissioned its own reports.

A request for comment from the company on Wednesday was not immediately answered.

A spokesperson for Port Saint John, which leases land to AIM, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.